Fast Break Draft Party

Draft day has finally arrived, but it was a long and winding path for the Warriors to get here. The Marcus Williams trade — four years ago next month — hung over this pick all year. The brutal 3-17 conclusion to the season drove home just how badly the Warriors wanted to keep it. The pick could have disappeared with a tie-breaking coin flip at the end of the season or with the draw of a ping pong ball last month at the lottery. But the Warriors held onto it, instilling it with a sort of talismanic significance. Now, it’s time for the Warriors to engage in a bit of basketball alchemy, turning those ugly games and lucky breaks into winning talent.

In honor of what is shaping up to be one of the most unpredictable drafts in recent memory, I’m opening up the Fast Break draft party early for all your guesses, hopes and instant reviews on the moves by the Warriors and the rest of the NBA. In an unfortunate bit of scheduling, I’m stuck on planes for most of Thursday leading up to the draft. Flights and traffic willing, I’ll be on the ground, by a TV and in the comments section once the rookies start sharing the stage with David Stern. Between now and then, I’m sure the Warriors will be implicated in rumors involving the 6 or 7 teams they haven’t been linked to yet.

As always, thanks for keeping the conversation going below. By the end of Thursday, we’ll finally have some results — not just speculation — to break down.

Festus Ezeli graduated with an economics degree from Vanderbilt. If you have to categorize the W picks, you need to use words like classy, smart, motivated, hard workering, and physical. There seems to be a common thread here. This team has come a long way from the likes of SJax, Monta, and BDavis. If only we could unload AB!

Pepper

J Covan Brown at 52? Or Kevin Jones, Drew Gooden….

bryhsiao

Kevin Jones and drew Gordon still around.
Let’s pick Kevin Jones?

Pepper

Or Henry Sims

holzman

Machado or JaMychal

believewhat

aloha,

Festus definitely need a nickname. I will call him EZ.

Pepper

Or Kuzmic…

believewhat

funny, nobody knows OGNJEN, funny Not even highlights, lol.

Pepper

That was weak, should have just traded the pick for a 2013 pick

bryhsiao

WTF
Lol
Ognjen Kuzmic.

No way would I pronunce “Augni “. Lol

JanG

BTW, I should add we got our Ibaka in this Ezeli kid. Ibaka is 6’10″ 235. Ezeli is 6’11″ and 255. Similar skill levels coming out of college. Now PGs will blow by Curry and get Festusized!

sartre

This site rates the dubs first three picks as A-, A-, B+.

I’m guessing Taylor has the better career but Festus met the greater need.

#52
Full Name: Ognjen Kuzmic
Position: Center
Height/Weight: 7-1 / 231
Birthdate: May 16, 1990
Club: Clinicas Rincon (Spain)
Strengths:
* Great size and length
* Agile and mobile for his size
* Moves well off the ball and fights for position
* Uses physical advantage quite well
* Good timing in blocking shots, disruptive on defense in the paint

Weaknesses:
* Needs to add strength
* Needs more work to become a reliable shooter away from the basket
* Gets pushed around by powerful centers

stays in Spain maybe

I yiyi yi

I liked this draft, thanks Mr. West, Myers Etc ……nice!
bring on summer league play

El Topo

Not happy here. Still think Royce White will be a better player than Harrison Barnes.

But I’ve been wrong before…

Definitely should have taken Kevin Jones ahead of Ognjen Kuzmic (who? He’s never been invited to any of the Bosnian national teams!)

Festus am OK with…we need a backup C. Hope he’ll be better than some of the guys drafted after him (for example, O’Quinn).

Perhaps we’ve some trades coming soon.

believewhat

A team like Miami or OKC who can’t afford to pay anyone will pick Kevin Jones if they are smart.

Otis

from draft express

Listed at 7’1, 231 pounds, Kuzmic looks every bit of 7-feet and has a terrific wingspan to go along with a strong work ethic on both sides of the floor. While he might not have the explosiveness to throw down tip-dunks from the weakside or power his way above the rim from a stand still due to a lack of lower body strength, the native of Bosnia is a good athlete for a European 7-footer who proves to be surprisingly nimble for a player that size, often showing quick feet hedging the pick and roll and finishing above the rim after hustling up the floor. He still needs to gain a considerable amount of weight, but is still able to make an impact in the LEB Gold with his solid motor. The 1990-born prospect has already added some muscle to his frame in recent years and has a nice framework to build upon, but has a long ways to go in terms of strength and polish.

Coming from a fairly unique basketball background, Kuzmic started his career in his native Bosnia before spending parts of the next three seasons playing in both the first and second divisions of Finland, the country his family found themselves living in during and after the war in their native land. Emerging as a solid contributor at the age of 19 in the Finnish second division, Kuzmic returned to Bosnia at 20 last year and ended the year averaging 9.7 points and 7.3 rebounds for Celik Zenica. Discovered and signed by Unicaja Magala this past summer, Kuzmic has been following a promising learning curve in recent seasons despite his relative inexperience on the international stage (he’s never been invited to any of the Bosnian national teams) and against high-level competition, and will be automatically eligible for the 2012 NBA Draft.

A key player on a roster dotted with younger international prospects such as Malick Fall and Maodo Nguirane, Kuzmic plays with Unicaja Malaga’s second team, Clinicas Rincon, which currently sits last in the LEB Gold with a 4-19 record. Kuzmic has had the opportunity to practice with Unicaja’s first team while playing extensive minutes with its counterpart in the second division. Though two other players in somewhat similar split-time situations, Alex Abrines and Augusto Lima, have seen more significant action in the ACB, Kuzmic has played essentially the entire season with Rincon apart from his 23-second debut for Malaga against Gran Canaria on opening day.

Averaging a solid 16.9 points per-40 minutes while shooting a respectable 53% from the field, Kuzmic is Rincon’s primary interior threat and one of its leading scorers. With his team often playing with different rotations on a nightly basis depending on who is playing up with Unicaja at the time, Kuzmic sees his usage fluctuate game-to-game, but he has been quite possibly the club’s most consistent contributor around the rim offensively.

Kuzmic is not a polished offensive player by any stretch, but has had some strong outings, including games of 22 and 17 points this season. Although he lacks a degree of polish and coordination around the rim, he makes his presence felt regularly inside the paint at this level. Despite his relative lack of strength, he does a very good job fighting for position on the block and uses his tremendous length and high motor to crash the offensive glass and create easy looks for himself with his hustle. Pulling down an excellent 5.3 offensive rebounds per-40 minutes, the young center is active on the boards.

When it comes to scoring the second chance opportunities he creates for himself, or the other finishing opportunities he sees around the basket, Kuzmic is a mixed bag. He shows decent touch around the rim, and while he’s not afraid to take contact, he struggles to finish through it, is not explosive in a crowd, and simply has quite a few of his shots narrowly rim out. He’ll finish plays with dunks when he has space and has shown developing finesse scoring moves, but is still learning how to make the most of his touches at the rim.

As a one-on-one scorer, Kuzmic faces similar challenges as he does as a finisher. He sees a significant number of his touches in post-up situations where he is creating his own offense, but appears mechanical and lacks consistency. It’s clear that he’s spent a significant amount of time working on this aspect of his game, but is still in the early stages of his development here. His footwork is not poor and he uses a soft, left-handed hook shot as his go to move on both blocks despite the fact that he is right-handed. On occasion, he even shows some potential away from the basket as a jump shooter, albeit inconsistently in a limited sample. Overall, Kuzmic is not a polished or consistently productive offensive player, but has some promising basic tools for a player still very early on in his development.

Defensively, Kuzmic is an impact player in the LEB Gold, blocking 3 shots (#1 in the league) and pulling down 8.1 defensive rebounds per-40 minutes, reminding somewhat of Fran Vazquez with his approach on this end of the floor. Coupling his size and length with his consistent energy level, Kuzmic is a threat to block shots on the ball and on the weakside, showing especially good anticipation and timing on occasion en route to leading the league in blocked shots. His instincts as a shot-blocker appears to be his most promising trait, and is certainly a skill that is in demand amongst NBA teams.

Often sitting in the center of his team’s zone, Kuzmic is not often asked to defend away from the basket, but he has fared relatively well when he has had to, surprising shooters with his length as he steps out to contest them. Managing to block quite a few midrange jump shots, Kuzmic leaves his feet whenever he closes out a shooter, and though his competitiveness and desire to contest shots is promising, his lack of fundamentals away from the basket is abundantly clear.

To take the next step defensively, the center will need to improve his ability to deal with stronger players in the paint, as he already struggles with post-oriented scorers who are able to seal him and back him down at this level.

Considering that he has not yet seen significant action in the ACB, Kuzmic is not a terribly well-known commodity. His level of competition is certainly a concern, but considering the leagues he played in early in his career, LEB is a major step up for the young Bosnian, and his productivity is indicative of his promising set of tools on both ends of the court. In one of the weakest automatically eligible crops of international prospects in recent memory, a player like Kuzmic could be a candidate for teams look for a low-risk, high-reward “draft and stash” prospect in the second round, as he’s seemingly earlier in his development than many other players his age. He is currently playing under a 3-year contract with easy outs for the NBA or another European club.

You have taught me how to spell Arnett, thought we are going to get him, very close.

dr_john

Surprise (previously predicted):

With the 59th pick, the Spurs take the 11th rated WoW player, Marcus Denmon. Actually, the 9th pick confirmed by both their models, and the 6th best of majors and mid-major schools.

Son of Ahmed

Draymond “Tractor Trailer” Green.

bullship

Well….

I am totally un impressed with the ws picks at this point. they get the worst player out of the top 15 in this draft, make no trades, pick a plodding center with virtually no skills, pass on drummond who will be an all star, now hav
e 7 players who are wings with duplicate abalities,

where is the toughness? Where are the rebounds?…

This will go down as a poor draft for the warriors.

They did not draft one player who improves the team…not one…s

i am going to throw up now….

BustOrganization

Possibly the most worthless, gutless, cowardly group of execs in the nba.

are you frikin serious???? Harrison Barnes????? who cares??????

Let’s analyze this worthless garbage ownership that at 16-18 could have picked any of those 3 players.

rivers was at 10 would have been a way better improvement from curry and would give other teams the go ahead to try and trade for him.

and the obvious big man of drummond the botched too.

how moronic can one team be????

The Oracle

TD is back under yet another screen name.

Songwriter123

OK, I liked the EZ – Larry Smith comparison, and hope the Barnes – Dunlevy comparison is not true.
We were so close to not having the #7 pick at all, I’m happy to have it, although I still think the W’s should have taken a longer term perspective and taken a C at #7 or traded for a later lottery pick.

The Oracle

Like the first 3 picks. Know nothing about the 4th.

BustOrganization

If anyone who’s a warrior fan thinks harrison barnes is a great pick?

you might want to wait another 20 years for the future star that has yet to be born yet?

The Oracle

I hate Sacto. Took another player I really wanted in Robinson. I was hoping someway somehow we could trade up or Sacto would take someone else.

Barnes is a nice fit though and am happy.

But we really need to resign McGuire now, although Green helps.

BustOrganization

green is an undersized power forward that nobody in the nba will fear at all

BustOrganization

does Jerry West have any importance within the organization. you think maybe for once he’s lost touch with reality. this is not the lakers here

it’s the warriors. your name “jerry west” nobody cares anymore

you are washed up

just look this year’s pick and no playoffs

worthless

BustOrganization

the lakers pick of robert sacre as the last pick of the draft is better pick than harrison barnes

BustOrganization

as harrison barnes becomes the next warrior brilliant 3 point shooter with nothing done in the clutch when it actually matters>>>>

fitzgerald would be highly aroused yet again with another gunner with no substance and no defense

…scotch

Quick look at the roster, looks like only 4 guards & that includes Rush & excludes Robinson. Not to mention “The Ankle”.

Wonder if that doesn’t bode well for a McGuire resign?

Someones gotta go?

I yiyi yi

thread dead, spamed to death by the troll…………….

BustOrganization

trust the experts….

harrison barnes will be in games and settling for 3s

this is the story of the warriors

when will you fans ever learn

El Topo

At least, we can hope Harrison Barnes is not “Bad News” Barnes!

BustOrganization

to make you fans feel a bit better about your history:

i will give you some good picks of the past

mullin

hardaway

sprewell

richmond

and that’s about it

BustOrganization

at least your team got a character type of player in barnes which you can’t say about coach jackson who seems to like to pay people money for his screwups

BustOrganization

I predict next year that the injury of that will plague this team:

brain cramps in the clutch

BustOrganization

bogut

curry

barnes

thompson

lee

lebron james is quaking in his boots

sartre

ET, I was hoping for Kevin Jones with the third pick. I think they would have been better served drafting a PF rather than an undersized (but big bodied) SF – Green is presently the 5th cab off the dubs SF rank.

@396, possibly. But the dubs have said they want to limit the number of rookies.

Son of Ahmed

sartre,

I’m ok with Green over Jones, though I don’t know why they didn’t take Jones at 52.

Green will not be a sf. He’ll be and undersized pf. There are quite a few undersized pf’s, and his rebounding, passing, and high post shooting should be valuable. Tom Izzo talking him up now on KNBR. Says he’s going to be a GREAT teammate and have high value. We’ll see. I like the pick.